


i know you all over again

by aquaexplicit



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Amnesia, Canon-Typical Violence, Comfort, Feelings Realization, Fluff and Crack, Harrisco Naturally Assume They're Dating, M/M, Making Out, Matchmaker Jesse, Memory Loss, Miscommunication, Temporary Amnesia, The Team Lose Their Memories, meta of the week, season 4, this is very silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-06 12:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13411584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquaexplicit/pseuds/aquaexplicit
Summary: “Do you think we’re roommates?” Harrison asks.Cisco looks over his shoulder to see Harrison hesitate before stepping into the room. He observes with his hands, the same way Cisco had, and a chord echoes in Cisco’s head. Something about this - them - curious and in each other’s space, is right.“I think maybe I tell my parents we’re roommates,” Cisco says.





	i know you all over again

**Author's Note:**

> this takes place in a vague s4 timeline where wally is still around and ralph isn't.

Cisco’s apartment isn’t what he was expecting.

He doesn’t know what he was expecting, really. He can remember how to drive a car and who’s President - which he’d like to forget, thanks - and that French Country is a style but not if he likes it or not. But the modern one bedroom, cluttered with technology and action figures and posters, isn’t what he imagined when he read his address on Francisco Ramon’s driver’s license.

Francisco didn’t feel right. Cisco doesn’t feel right, either, but nothing does feel right, or true, or certain. The only thing Cisco is sure about is that his bed probably hasn’t seen a lot of action.

“Well, one thing’s clear,” he says, taking in his collection of Star Trek DVD’s. “I’m a fuckin’ nerd.”

Harrison laughs. The name is clunky in Cisco's head but it is on the guy’s license, which looks oddly different from everyone else’s. Harrison's grin is toothy and familiar in a way that settles in Cisco’s belly. Cisco smiles back.

“I think you might be a gay nerd,” Iris calls from the doorway of a room Cisco doesn’t recognize. She glances at Harrison, too, before motioning for Cisco to join her.

He lingers in the threshold of a bedroom - his bedroom, he guesses, even if he can’t see himself cradled in the Star Wars sheets. Organized chaos is strewn about and he can’t imagine deciphering it. There are clothes all over the floor. Graphic t-shirts, black t-shirts, jeans, black jeans, cardigans, black cardigans. A lot of black cardigans.

“So I wear a lot of cardigans,” Cisco says, shifting his weight back and forth. He doesn’t feel gay. But he doesn’t feel not gay. “That doesn’t mean…”

The words weaken when Harrison gentles into their space. He looks bored but there’s a taut edge in the line of his body - the long, compacted power of lean muscle and okay, Cisco might be a little gay. Curious, Harrison looks over their heads and peers into Cisco’s room. His gaze roams the clothes then drops to his own outfit. He frowns.

Iris smiles and pats their shoulders before stepping away. Probably to find her fiance. Cisco gets the distinct feeling Bart doesn’t do well with Iris leaving him to his own devices.

He and Harrison stand for several moments before Cisco takes the plunge and steps inside. No memory springs up. He runs his hands over a desk, over books, and his fingers feel numb.

“Do you think we’re roommates?” Harrison asks.

Cisco looks over his shoulder to see Harrison hesitate before stepping into the room. He observes with his hands, the same way Cisco had, and a chord echoes in Cisco’s head. Something about this - them - curious and in each other’s space, is right.

“I think maybe I tell my parents we’re roommates,” Cisco says.

There’s a picture of him with two people he thinks are his parents in the living room. He sits on the edge of the bed, awkward and strange in his skin, trying to remember an entire life. His fingers brush something plastic and he looks down -

“Yep. Definitely tack some air quotes to that.”

Harrison moves to him before his brain can catch up. He looks at his own shoes - there are a pair of black cargo pants next to them - so he doesn’t have to look at Harrison’s face when he sees the bottle of lube Cisco found in the sheets. No wonder Iris had been staring at his bed the way she had.

“Okay, that’s. I mean.” Cisco glances up to see Harrison taking off his glasses. Harrison meets his eyes and puts them back on. “Maybe we’re just - just - very close friends.”

“Just a couple of gal pals.” Cisco rolls his eyes. “You’re not one of those in denial, self loathing gay guys are you?”

Harrison’s nerves disappear under a sour look. It smooths the wrinkles in his forehead, around his eyes. Cisco’s fingers twitch.

“How would I know that?”

But Harrison stills, eyebrows coming together, chiseling out the wrinkles again. Cisco tries to remember if he found that look endearing or annoying or handsome, but all he can do is think in the moment. And in the moment, handsome is winning out.

Cautious, Harrison takes a seat next to him. Not too close. Not bro feet away, though. He takes his glasses off again and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Don’t you think you’re a little young for me?”

“Well. Yeah.” Cisco shrugs, pursing his lips thoughtfully, not missing when Harrison stares at his mouth. A prickle of heat flutters along his cheeks. “Maybe I have daddy issues?”

Harrison pulls a face. Something in Cisco hooks into it and instead of backing away, he barrels further in.

“Maybe I’m like, your kept boy, you know? Or you’re like my sci fi sugar daddy. Do you think I call you that in bed?”

“God,” Harrison says, but he’s grinning again, all teeth. He puts his face into his hands. When he brings them down there’s red on his cheeks. Cisco grins back. “Let’s hope not.”

A thin silence settles over them, easy and eerie. Cisco feels like a creep, snooping in on some other life that is both his and not his at all.

“Should we,” Harrison begins. He stops, looking away, and something warm spreads through Cisco’s limbs. It’s not familiar but it’s thrilling.

Iris, with Bart, Wallace, and Caitlin now by her side, pops her head back into the room. Cisco shoves the bottle under the covers as inconspicuous as he possibly can, then crosses his legs, tilting his head, projecting as much sweetness as he knows how. Joseph - they have to call him Joe, Cisco is sure of it - joins them. He takes in the scene - the clothes, the mess, Harrison and Cisco on the bed - and narrows his eyes.

“Don’t you think he’s a little young for you?”

Cisco laughs. Harrison scowls. It doesn’t stay in place for long.

“Apparently I’m young at heart,” Harrison deadpans.

“And hopefully super rich,” Cisco adds.

“We were going to head to Joseph’s - I mean, my dad’s - I mean, our dad’s - “ Wallace says. He frowns then points to Joseph. “His place. It’s my place too, I think. See if there are any more clues there. You guys coming, or…?”

“We should all probably stick together,” Iris says.

Harrison nods. “In case anyone gets any memories back or whatever happened to take our memories happens again.”

“Exactly,” Iris says.

Bart looks at her with fondness before looking to Cisco. He beams. Cisco beams right back. It feels natural. He can almost remember it.

-

At Joe’s - Cisco called it, he’s Joe now - they find pictures. A million pictures.

There are photo albums with young Iris and young Bart but no Wallace. There are a few of Bart and Cisco, a few with Caitlin too. The family photo on the fireplace only shows Joe, Iris, Wallace, and Bart. Caitlin starts spitting out statistics and medical terminology that make everyone’s eyes go wide. Cisco and Harrison leave them to sort through whatever Jerry Springer mess they’ve all gotten themselves into and wait in the kitchen.

“I wonder if I know how to cook,” Cisco says, opening the fridge. He looks inside before frowning and turning to face Harrison. “You don’t think I’m a vegan, do you?”

“Why do we both know what vegans are if we can’t remember if we’re vegans or not?”

Cisco narrows his eyes. “I don’t know. But I’m going to assume that I’m not. And if I’m not, you’re not, because I wouldn’t date a man who doesn’t love meat. And that did not come out right at all.”

“Do you think you’re always this embarrassing?” Harrison says. Cisco flips him off. “I’m going to go with yes.”

“This is why you’re not in any family pictures,” Cisco says, grabbing an armful of sandwich ingredients. “You’re mean.”

Harrison slides from the bar stool to grab bread. He settles next to Cisco and Cisco could swear he remembers this. Being side by side, putting things together, edging each other towards something gentle and teasing. The remnant of memory - if there even was one - is gone in a flash.

“That’s probably why you’re into me. I bet you never go for the nice guys. You only like assholes with great hair and a sarcastic streak.” Harrison grabs the mustard and mayonnaise and stares at both. “I have no idea what I like on my sandwich.”

“Mayo. White people love mayo. That I remember.” Cisco taps his head.

Harrison takes the mayonnaise.

Cisco fills the awkwardly not awkward silence. “Do you think we all have some sort of disease? That could explain why we were all in that place together? Maybe we were being studied or treated or...something.”

Cisco works on assembling his own sandwich while Harrison thinks next to him. At least, Cisco is pretty sure that’s Harrison’s thinking face. He piles turkey and ham and three kinds of cheese between bread.

“There would’ve been other people if that were the case,” Harrison says. “I think it must have happened suddenly.”

“Like a terrorist attack? Biowarfare?”

“That’s possible. But no one else in this city seems to be affected.”

Cisco frowns and finishes his sandwich. They watched the news, wandered into a few stores on their way from the lab to the address on Cisco’s driver’s license. Everything seemed normal in this city none of them could remember.

“So maybe it was just the lab that was the target. Or the people in the lab.” Cisco meets Harrison’s eyes and knows, without a doubt, he’s thinking the same thing. “Whatever happened to us, why it happened to us - all of those answers are back at the lab.”

“Come on.” Harrison places a hand on his shoulder without blinking, as if without thinking, like his muscles remember touching Cisco even if his brain doesn’t. He stares at his fingers, his thumb settled across Cisco’s collarbone heavy as a brand, and stills. “Sorry.”

“No,” Cisco says, reaching to curl his own fingers loose and not completely sure around Harrison’s wrist, keeping Harrison’s touch on him. “That’s okay. I think - I’m pretty sure that’s okay touching. It feels okay.”

Harrison licks his lips. It’s a nervous gesture, Cisco thinks, and can’t remember if Harrison did it before.

“We don’t remember - anything. Even if this feels like something we did, we can’t be sure.”

“Does this feel like something we did to you?” Cisco asks. It doesn’t to him. There’s no association that is sudden and bright and clear now that they’re touching. But it doesn’t feel wrong. It doesn't feel like something he wants to stop.

“Does it to you?”

Cisco would be annoyed at the avoidance, but the thin skinned nerves of Harrison’s gaze ebbs away any irritation. There is a pit in Cisco, something gnawing, urging him towards tenderness.

“It feels...like something we should do,” Cisco says, putting it into words as best he can.

Harrison frowns but doesn’t move his hand.

“You know,” Cisco says. His breath comes a little quick and he feels his heart racing under Harrison’s touch. “Bart said when he and Iris kissed, he didn’t remember anything, but he knew it was right. He knew he was where he belonged.”

“They both had engagement rings on. Their relationship was pretty obvious. We just have piles of clothes together.”

“And lube in the bed in the room where our clothes were in piles together.”

Harrison looks at the ceiling. “That’s fair.” He glances back at Cisco, at his mouth, and his fingers curl a little tighter into Cisco’s skin.

“Maybe we should try the same experiment?” Cisco stares up into Harrison’s face, searching, wondering why he had to pick a boyfriend so much taller than him. He can only imagine the neck cramps he used to give himself.

“Maybe,” Harrison agrees, moving closer. “It might not work the same for us.”

Harrison curls closer as he says it, though, and Cisco pushes on his toes, and for a second they’re breathing the same electric air.

“Guys, there’s - woah. Sorry to interrupt.”

Cisco curses in his head and steps back. Wallace gives a strained smile that has Harrison crossing his arms.

“Sorry. There’s just - something you guys need to see.”

Harrison and Cisco trek into the living room. Iris and Joe are sitting on the couch, wide eyed. Bart is standing in the middle of the room.

“You guys are going to want to sit down for this,” Wallace assures them.

Harrison doesn’t move. Cisco thinks his knees could probably use the support for whatever crazy the group is about to unleash, but there’s a nagging in the back of his bones urging him to stay by Harrison’s side. In solidarity with his probably boyfriend, Cisco locks his knees and nods for them to continue.

“Okay,” Wallace says and looks to Bart. “You ready?”

Bart nods, then lifts his hand. Wallace lifts his as well. Harrison and Cisco exchange looks.

Suddenly, their hands start to move. Not just move. _Vibrate._  Quick as saws, molecules bursting, buzzing with no sound and every ounce of energy.

Something bright aches in Cisco. He takes a step back, hand coming to clutch his chest. He only realizes his breath is caught and painful because Harrison wraps an arm around his shoulder, guiding him to a chair.

“Are you okay?” Harrison asks, a little frantic, settling to crouch in front of Cisco. His fingers press at Cisco’s temple.

“I - I think so,” Cisco says. He absolutely does not think so. But he bites back something that feels very much like fear to breathe in deep gulps of air.

Wallace and Bart have stopped vibrating. They both look sheepish, apologetic, and Cisco gropes for a smile.

“Sorry. That was just. Wild.”

“We’re fast,” Bart says, like an explanation is going to soothe the hammer of Cisco’s heart. “Like. Really fast.”

“We can see that,” Harrison snaps.

“Watch the tone,” Joe snaps back.

“I’m fine.” Cisco hesitates a few more breaths before reaching out to grip Harrison’s shoulder, to reassure him -

_Everything is blue. Hazy and a little slow. Cisco feels caught at the bottom of a pool, watching his life in waves. He sees Harrison - he sees himself - he sees connection and light and Harrison bending into him -_

The next time Cisco opens his eyes, he’s on the couch, not the chair. He’s lying down. Harrison is still at his side.

“What happened? Cisco? You touched me and you - you fell back and you weren’t saying anything and - and - Cisco, say something - ”

“Give the boy some space,” Joe says. Harrison glares at him.

Cisco blinks. Nothing is blue. Everyone is moving at normal speed - he thinks. He takes in the room, everyone in it. Something about Bart’s concerned face hovering over the other side of the couch twinges familiar. He wipes under his nose and frowns when he pulls back his fingers, clean. Why was he expecting blood?

“I saw something,” Cisco tries to explain.

“A memory?” Harrison asks.

Cisco almost says yes, except - “I don’t know. It - it happened. Or is going to happen.”

“Going to happen?” Bart echoes.

Harrison shakes his head. “What do you mean, going to happen? Are you trying to tell us you can - what? See the future?”

“No?” Cisco says. He pops his jaw. “Maybe? Everything was weird. It was like I wasn’t in my body but I was still in my body. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Harrison keeps staring at him. Not like he’s crazy. Like he’s something Harrison doesn’t know, can’t explain. Cisco doesn’t like it.

“Okay. Okay. Let’s just be calm. And rational,” Joe says. He looks panicked. Wallace moves to comfort him but he flinches from the hand, despite its human speed.

Iris steps in as soon as she sees it. “We need to get back to the labs. Whatever’s going on, I think that’s where we’ll find answers.”

“She’s right,” Cisco agrees. “I mean, I feel like she’s right. Harrison and I decided the same thing.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Harrison asks.

His hands move over Cisco like he’s checking for broken pieces. It’s mechanical and unfamiliar but it comforts Cisco into a smile. He nods.

-

They explore the lab much more diligently and discover that it is, effectively, a ghost town. There are rooms upon technology upon dusty desks. Cisco wonders aloud if it’s some kind of secret base, hidden in plain sight. Bart suggests they’re CIA while Wallace counters with vigilante gang. Harrison scoffs.

Until they find the super suits.

It’s obviously what they are. Bright colored lycra plus two men who can move at the speed of light plus one man who can do, well, whatever Cisco can do, equals vigilante super hero team. Cisco shares open mouthed stares with Bart and Wallace before they break out into grins and high fives.

“Whose suit do you think is whose?” Wallace asks, running his hands over glass.

“Do you think we’re all heroes? Like the Super Friends?” Caitlin asks.

Super Friends sounds super lame, but Cisco doesn’t comment. Instead he says, “Maybe.”

“I’m a cop. Obviously I’m around to keep you out of trouble with the law whenever you get into super messes.”

“I feel like this suit is mine. Yellow feels like my color. Iris?” Bart looks to her as she walks over to him, observing a yellow suit with red detail. She frowns.

“Maybe the red? With the lightning bolts?”

Iris gives a bright smile and Bart’s frown instantly turns. Cisco rolls his eyes to Harrison, who finds him easily.

“We should check online,” Iris says. “Surely if there are a group of superheroes running around the city there’s some video or pictures. Maybe we can figure out who’s who from that?”

“Tech support is on it.” Caitlin pats Harrison’s shoulder, who glances at her with raised eyebrows. “Sorry. I just feel like maybe we’re tech support.”

“He’s the eye candy,” Cisco says.

Harrison tries not to smile. He follows Caitlin to a row of computers and they both type away. Cisco keeps looking for his super suit. Does he have a mask? He doesn’t think the red or yellow suits displayed behind glass are his. Compared to the clothes he’s wearing and the wardrobe he found at his apartment, they don’t seem like his style. And he’s pretty sure he has style.

“Guys,” Caitlin calls. “You’ve gotta come see this.”

They gather around the computer, Cisco standing behind Harry’s shoulders, and watch a video of themselves battling two women with water shooting out of their hands. Cisco’s mouth drops when what is obviously him shoots something out of his hand and Wallace speeds through it, popping up behind one of the women. Then onscreen Cisco lets loose something else, knocking the other woman to the ground.

He’s smooth. His movements flow and direct Bart and Wallace like water. His curls flutter in the wind and his jaw is clenched, strong and determined.

“I’m a badass,” he breathes. He blinks to find Harrison staring up at him with narrow eyes. His pupils are wide.

“And I’m a hero,” Wallace says. “We’re all heroes.”

“You’re going to marry a hero,” Bart whispers to Iris.

“I need to find my suit,” Cisco says. If something crazy happens, he needs to know where his suit is too. Also probably how to use his powers. Leather pants come first though.

“I’ll help you,” Harrison offers.

-

They find a room that looks like it’s actually been used recently. There are monitors and tools and a million wires. Cisco feels at home looking at them. His fingers itch as if they know exactly what to do. His eyes land on a pile of what looks like gear. Gloves, goggles, and a pair of sick sneakers.

Harrison follows a few steps behind him as he moves to pick everything up. He has absolutely no memory of the pieces in his hand and staring at it all against the backdrop of the video makes his head hurt. Frowning, he puts it all back on the table.

“Did you see something again?” Harrison asks.

Cisco shakes his head. “No. It’s just freaking me out. I can’t remember even wearing this stuff but there’s a video of me in it, being a kick ass superhero with half a million hits.”

“Yeah. You… sure were something.”

There’s a little cough that stutters Harrison’s voice. Cisco tilts his head, trying to read meaning between Harrison’s frown lines.

“You thought I was totally hot.”

Harrison opens and closes his mouth. “I thought you were. Very proficient. And badass, like you said.”

“And sexy,” Cisco supplies with a smile.

He leans back against the desk. When Harrison opens his mouth again, Cisco raises his brow, challenging Harrison to argue with the obvious. Harrison shakes his head and steps forward.

“If you’re into the whole hero in leather who saves the day kind of thing,” Harrison says. He keeps moving, cautious, like he’s waiting for Cisco to tell him to stop.

Cisco exhales, lets his body relax, and braces his palms on either side of the desk. Every part of him whispers open. Harrison takes the invitation, halting only when they’re a foot apart.

“And are you? Into that sort of thing?”

Harrison swallows, but he doesn’t look away. “I think I might be.”

There’s no way for Harrison’s voice to get raspier, but somehow it did, and now Harrison isn’t the only one who’s compromised. Cisco swallows too and stands a little straighter.

“We never did get to do our experiment. To see if kissing jogs any memories for us.”

“Are you sure you still want to try that?” Harrison asks, even as he moves to close the distance between them.

Cisco doesn’t answer with words. He summons all of his determination, every earnest desire to know, every flutter in his belly, and rests his palms gently against Harrison’s jaw. Harrison’s eyes close, only for a breath, but it’s enough to urge Cisco up. He pushes on his feet - a little embarrassed and a lot on fire at the difference in their height - and presses his mouth to Harrison’s own.

Harrison’s lips are soft. Dry, but not unpleasantly so, not that Cisco can remember anything to compare it to. He wonders if he even knows how to kiss until Harrison’s hands move to mirror his own. The press of tender fingers, tentative and warm, is like a whisper, teasing Cisco forward. He dares to move his lips. Harrison’s fingers press into him more sharply.

He pulls away first, taking greedy gulps of air. He doesn’t think he’s supposed to get so worked up over a peck. Harrison looks just as wrecked.

“Did you feel anything?” Cisco asks, resisting the urge to press his fingers into the tingle of his lips.

Harrison licks his lips. It sends a jolt through Cisco, making him want to do the same, making him want to give Harrison more to taste. He sways forward.

“I definitely felt something,” Harrison says, a little breathless. “I don’t know if I remembered anything.”

Cisco definitely didn’t remember anything. “I don’t know either.”

“Probably we should do it again, then. Just to make sure.”

“Just to make sure,” Cisco echoes, and pulls Harrison back in.

This is kiss is infinitely less gentle. They slide together slickly, eager to find something in each other’s skin that may not even exist. But if Harrison’s mouth holds any memories, if any part of their lives is hidden on Harrison’s tongue, Cisco is going to find it.

When he finally licks into Harrison’s mouth, Harrison makes a noise that vibrates in Cisco’s bones and presses forward. The backs of Cisco’s thighs hit the table. There’s a bite of pain but Cisco ignores it in favor of threading his fingers in Harrison’s hair and tugging him deeper into the kiss.

He has to break away for air. A frustrated whine leaves him and Harrison swoops in to soothe it, kissing across Cisco’s cheek to his ear.

“Do you think you like to have your neck kissed?” Harrison breathes against his skin. "Do you think you like it sweet? Or rough?"

“Dunno,” Cisco says, practically clawing at Harrison’s shoulders. Maybe it’s because he can’t remember ever doing this before, but his body feels absolutely raw under Harrison’s mouth. If someone told him he’d never been touched he would believe them. The pressure, light as it is, and the slick heat, unfamiliar as it is, makes him want to cry and pull away and roll in the lushness of feeling. “Help me find out.”

Harrison drags his open mouth over Cisco’s pulse. Cisco tilts into it, every cell cooking down to throbbing heat. It’s too much. He can’t breathe and he can’t take it and it’s too much. He gets one hand around Harrison’s hip, gripping him tight enough to bruise.

“Are you remembering anything yet?” Harrison asks. He’s kissing back to Cisco’s mouth but holds himself a breath away.

Cisco ignores the question in favor of kissing Harrison again. When he pulls away, he rests his forehead on Harrison’s jaw. His mind is fuzzy and hot.

“I think I’m remembering that I’m easy.”

He’s angling for teasing but something about the words spooks Harrison away. Harrison tenses under his hands.

“Hey, I was just - ”

Harrison takes a step back, away from Cisco’s touch and mouth and need. And Cisco does need. Maybe it’s not Harrison’s skin pressed against him - maybe it’s a bucket of cold water and hey, his memories back. But his entire body hurts. He feels starved for pressure, for warmth, for the press of Harrison’s skin.

“We should be careful. Not to get carried away. We still don’t really know anything and we could be - who knows what damage we could be doing.”

Logically, Cisco knows Harrison is right. They don’t know what damage they could be doing - to themselves, to others. But Cisco also knows, now, that Harrison’s mouth gets red and flush after it’s been kissed, and there are a thousand other things about Harrison’s body he has to discover. He’s greedy for it.

“Harrison,” he tries, reaching to touch Harrison’s shoulder.

When his fingers connect with skin, he has a moment to think, fuck, before everything wobbles fuzzy and electric.

_He’s watching a scene from a movie, except he can see himself. He can see Harrison and Caitlin and a man, shaking. He tries to call out to them but his voice is the echo of an echo. No one hears him. When he moves it’s like his muscles are filled with lead._

_The man - Cisco doesn’t recognize him - is saying something. His voice is wet and sorry. Caitlin is speaking softly to him. Whatever she’s saying, whatever she’s trying to do, doesn’t work. Or it does. Cisco can’t tell. All he sees is the man lift his arm and release a white hot pulse into the room. He sees them all fall._

When Cisco gasps back into reality, Harrison is holding him upright.  
  
“Did you see something again?”

Cisco nods. It shakes his brain around and he winces at the throb of pain. He grips Harrison’s shoulders.

“Cisco - ”

“We need to tell the gang,” Cisco pants. “I think I know what happened.”

-

Cisco attempts to explain his vision while he brings up security footage. He wishes he knew if he’d kissed Harrison before today with the same certainty he knew how to connect to the lab cameras. Joe, Bart, and Wallace watch from a distance while Harrison hovers behind him, concerned. Iris and Caitlin sit on either side of him.

“So what exactly were you guys doing before you had your vision?” Iris asks. Her voice is innocent but when Cisco glances at her, there is light in her eyes.

He glances quickly back at the screen. “Looking for my suit,” Cisco says.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Caitlin grin. “Did you hit something while you were looking for it? There’s a little red on your neck.”

Cisco slaps a hand over the spot Harry’s teeth had been scraping. He can feel his face burn.

“That,” Harrison starts, sounding strained. “We were. We found out that Cisco’s clumsy.”

Cisco glares at Harrison over his shoulder. Traitor.

Iris taps his shoulder, drawing his attention back to the monitor. It’s his vision, playing out in real time and real color on the screen.

“This is what I saw,” he tells them. “Exactly what I saw.”

He can feel Caitlin and Harrison watching him as Iris calls out for her family to join them. Cisco goes back as far as he can, which isn’t much. The footage is blurred and shaky. Whatever the mystery man did when he released the pulse of energy that wiped their memories must have done something to their technology too.

The most they get is what Cisco felt. The security footage has better sound, but all they get is a name, Peter, and a very dramatic but moving speech by Caitlin about not giving in to the impulse of the power and the weakness of giving up hope. It sounds like she’s speaking from the intimacy of experience with the dark side, but no one points it out. One thing at a time.

“So this is the guy that wiped our memories. How are we supposed to find him?” Bart asks.

“My powers?” Cisco suggests, but he’s unsure. “Maybe I can get visions on purpose? Maybe I can try to see or vibe out where he is now.”

“You don’t have any idea how your powers work. Or if you can even do something like that,” Harrison points out.

“I can at least try.”

“What if you - ” Cisco glances up into Harrison’s scrunched face. It’s angry and, frankly, adorable. Cisco has the urge to bop him then kiss the cranky away. “It hurt you. The last times you saw something. I know it hurt you. What if trying to have one of these visions hurts you even more?”

“Then that’s a risk I’ll have to take,” Cisco says easily. “I’m a hero. That’s what I do.”

“What if you don’t have to?” Joe asks. “I’m a cop. Iris has a press badge. We could try to find this guy another way.”

“That’s not necessarily going to lead us to where he is now, though,” Caitlin says.

“So we cover all our basis,” Iris says. “Me and my dad will do the detective thing. Cisco can try to use his powers. Caitlin, since you’re pretty sure you’re a doctor, you should stick with him.”

“Of course.”

“Bart and Wallace, you guys should probably try to get a handle on your powers too.”

“No offense honey, but we just kind of… go really fast. I think we have a handle on them.” Iris gives Bart a blank stare. “Of course it never hurts to practice, right?”

“And what am I supposed to do? Since you’ve decided you’re calling the shots?” Harrison snaps.

Iris meets him, fierceness for fierceness. “Keep combing through the security footage. See if there’s anything else you can find.”

“I’m not leaving him,” Harrison says.

“Hey, it’s okay. I can take care of myself,” Cisco says. Harrison glances at him with clenched teeth. Cisco sighs. “Give us a second?”

He takes Harrison by the wrist and leads him to a corner of the room, shadowed and out of ear shot.

“You’re being a dick. It’s not a good look, just FYI.”

“You haven’t seen what you look like when you get one of those visions,” Harrison grits. His voice is a growl but all of his nerves are raw and on display.

Cisco softens. His palms rub reassurance over Harrison’s arms. “This is what I do. Granted, we don’t remember how or why or - anything, really. But I help people. This is how. You need to let me.”

“I don’t have to like it.”

“No,” Cisco agrees, smiling as Harrison huffs and settles under his hands. “But I’ll be alright. And you’ll be right here if I need you, right?”

Harrison nods. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Cisco resists the urge to press his mouth to Harrison’s cheek or push his forehead up to Harrison to receive a kiss. He squeezes Harrison’s biceps and smiles.

-

“This isn’t working,” Cisco groans, leaning back on the exam table.

Caitlin has all sorts of medical dohickies sticking to him, monitoring his brain and heart and other vital things. She can remember how to do that, but she can’t remember buying the choker necklace she’s wearing.

“Maybe you need something of his,” Caitlin muses. “Or maybe you need Harrison. He’s been with you the last two times you had visions. Maybe he’s your trigger somehow? What were you doing with him before you saw something?”

Cisco squirms on the table. “Just. You know. Looking for my suit. Like he said.”

“I’m a doctor, Cisco. An objective medical professional. And I’m trying to help.”

“How do we know you were objective? Maybe you were a mad scientist we were actually trying to take down.”

Caitlin smiles at him, all cupcake warm and gooey. Cisco is pretty sure he loves her in some deep, defining way. He smiles back.

“You said you found some gloves and goggles.”

“And some dope as hell shoes.”

“You should try finding this guy with those.”

Cisco sits up. He drums his fingertips on the table, frowning at them. “Probably. I mean, I must have them for a reason right?”

“You’re freaking out.”

“I’m not freaking,” Cisco says, feeling his stomach twist cold and tight. “It’s just - Bart and Wallace don’t really have a lot to figure out, power wise. But we don’t even know what the hell my powers are. Maybe Harrison was right. Maybe I can’t - ”

“Hey.” Caitlin grips his shoulder. It’s different than being under Harrison’s touch. There’s still a comfort that comes, though, and his muscles loosen. “He wasn’t saying you couldn’t do this. He’s just worried. It was kind of scary watching you have your vision back at Joe’s. And he obviously cares about you.” She taps the side of Cisco’s neck with a smile.

“I think I really like him,” Cisco whispers, like a secret. “Like, an embarrassing amount.”

Caitlin leans in. “I think he really likes you back.”

Cisco exhales. Her words ease something in him and he tries to slide off the table, prepared to get his gear, when a little electrode tugs at his skin.

“Hang on there, lover boy. Let me get you unhooked first.”

-

When Cisco turns into his workshop again, Harrison is sitting on a table, goggles in hand.

“Hey.”

Harrison looks up. He doesn’t seem pleased. “Hey.”

“I thought you were scouring security footage?” Cisco asks, coming to stand next to him.

“That was busy work. All I found were a couple fuzzy frames of our guy talking to Caitlin. Only thing I noticed was that he was wearing this hoodie in them and not in the footage from your vision.”

“You found it?”

“Wasn’t hard to find. I thought I would try to help you but.” Harrison trails off, frustrated, and puts the goggles on the table.

“Hey,” Cisco says, soft, and rubs Harrison’s shoulder without hesitation. “Why the face?”

“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” Harrison grits. He’s tense under Cisco’s hand. “Everyone else has a job, or powers, and I’m just - I don’t even know. The old guy who may or may not be dating someone half my age and light years out of my league.”

“Woah, woah. I don’t think I’m out of your league.”

He moves to stand face to face with Harrison, placing his other hand on Harrison’s other shoulder. He squeezes tight until Harrison looks at him. When their gazes meet, he offers his most earnest smile. Harrison slumps.

“You’re a total catch,” Cisco assures him.

Harrison laughs, dry and without humor. “I don’t have any money in my wallet.”

“That’s what this is about? You’re freaked I might be the sugar daddy? Baby? I don’t know how it works when the rich one is younger.” Cisco frowns.

“I found a picture,” Harrison continues.

Cisco feels dread spread through his limbs. God. A picture. He prays it’s not of Harrison with a wife and kids and German Shepherds and a minivan.

“I’m pretty sure I have a daughter.”

The words nearly knock Cisco’s head off his shoulders. He stands still and dumb as a post when Harrison fishes out his wallet and produces a picture. The girl - woman, practically - is pretty and young. She sports a smile sweet as her chocolate hair. When Cisco looks at the back of the picture, there’s a date. Less than a year ago. It’s signed Jesse.

“Where is she, Cisco?” Harrison asks quietly. “I have no idea where she is. Who she is.”

“Joe didn’t know Wallace or Iris or Bart. Whatever that situation is. It’s not your fault.”

“I don’t even have a Jesse in my phone.”

Cisco watches Harrison scrub a hand over his face. An ache blooms in his heart. He wants to soothe away the tense twitches of rage, of despair, leaving Harrison’s spine curved. All he can do is touch Harrison again.

“I think I’m a bad father.”

“Hey. Stop. Look at me.” Harrison refuses for a moment, stubborn, but Cisco is pretty sure he can be patient. Finally, Harrison meets his gaze. “We literally know nothing about our lives. You didn’t even know you had a daughter an hour ago and now you’re brooding because you think you’re not a good dad? You realize how melodramatic and crazy that is, right?”

“I’m not brooding,” Harrison says. Broodily.

Cisco sighs, rubbing his hands over Harrison’s biceps. “We’re going to find the guy who took our memories and get them back. Until then, all we can do is focus. We can’t drive ourselves crazy speculating.”

“I guess.” Harrison glances at him before glancing immediately away. “I guess that makes an annoying amount of sense. I just. I hate this. I feel useless and not right in my own skin. I don’t even know if I - I don’t know who I am. What my place is here with these people or with you.”

Cisco has the urge to kiss him again. He tries to resist, to remember how bare Harrison’s face was when he told Cisco they needed to be careful. Instead Cisco focuses on his words.

“Look. I may not know exactly what your place on this team is, or in my life, but I know you’re important. I know whatever we do - whatever I do - wouldn’t happen without you.”

“You can’t know that,” Harrison says, but the pinch in his face is smoothing.

“Sure I can. I like, see the future and stuff. I’m all knowing. And I feel it.” Cisco waits a moment, unsure, but finds courage in the open raw of Harrison’s gaze. He reaches for Harrison’s hand with his own and places it over his heart. “I feel it here.”

“I think,” Harrison breathes, rubbing his fingers feather light over Cisco’s chest. “You might be too good for me.”

Cisco feels confident enough to tease now. “Probably,” he says, and snatches the goggles from Harrison’s side. He flips them over a few times, frowning.

“Do you think this is just a bold fashion choice, like the shoes, or do these do something?”

“The shoes absolutely do something for your ass,” Harrison says dryly. Cisco blinks before grinning wide. Okay. So Harrison is fragile, handle with care, but once he’s out of his Mood he’s ready to be an ass again. Cisco can so work with that. “And I’m pretty sure those help focus your powers.”

“Focus them?”

Harrison nods. “I was comparing the times you’ve gotten your visions. There were only two constants in both situations. One was me. Two was you were afraid. The first time, you were obviously of Wallace and Bart's speed. The second time. Well. Me walking away.”

Cisco stares at the goggles, considering. “What do you think these do?”

“Stimulate the fear centers of your brain. Like a power boost, allowing you to tap into them like that.” Harrison snaps. “The gauntlets are to help control the blast...things you do. Keep them tighter.”

“You figured all this out while I was with Caitlin?”

“I’m just guessing,” Harrison says. “I’m probably right, but.”

Cisco doesn’t stop himself this time. He dips down to kiss Harrison light and true on the lips.

“Come on. I’m gonna let Caitlin strap me up to her machines while we give these babies a whirl. Bring the hoodie.”

-

Cisco sees a lot of things. At least he’s seeing something, he thinks. Harrison’s voice and Catilin’s concern watch over him. Paired with the goggles, they guide him through the pool water haze. Eventually, he finds their guy.

He sees the man sitting in an apartment. Cisco can’t identify the building but he watches the man watch birds outside his window. One lands on a street sign. That, along with the smell of bar b que, narrows their search down to a stretch of apartments only twenty minutes away.

There’s a group text on each of their phones but all the messages are deleted. Cisco sends a quick shout to the rest of the group to reconvene at the labs. He checks to see if he has or has sent any nudes, but his phone is full of pictures of Bart sleeping in funny positions and dogs. There’s one of Harrison with his maybe daughter. She’s smiling. He’s not. Cisco shows him and Harrison’s eyes go soft. Cisco is pretty sure he’s a stepdad and an awesome one at that.

When Joe and Iris meet them all in the lab. They’re carrying sacks of food that Cisco can’t remember if he likes. His stomach growls at the scent anyway.

“You found the guy,” Joe says, not asks, and smiles at Cisco while handing him a bag. It feels like the approval of a father Cisco never had. Cisco’s sure when he gets his memories back, he’ll know this feeling, but until then he beams under it.

“Yeah. And you guys brought cheeseburgers. I’d say we’re pretty even on making case progress.”

“We got a name,” Iris says. “Peter Caldwell. Junior at Central City Tech, majoring in psychology. According to his records and some statements from friends, there was a huge explosion at this lab three years ago. A particle accelerator, whatever that is, overloaded and sent dark matter everywhere. Since then he’s been...different.”

“Different how?” Bart asks, leaning in to give Iris a kiss on the cheek. “Is that how we got our powers too?”

“I’m guessing,” Joe says. “And no one could really pin it down. His mom said he was always smart but now he was smarter. Able to retain more. She thought he was on Adderal or something at first.”

“So he remembers more...by stealing other people’s memories?” Wallace asks. He grabs a bag and hops on a table next to Caitlin.

“I don’t think that’s how it works. There’s something about the way his cells react to electromagnetism. Or how he controls it. The blast he sent out - that wasn’t him stealing our memories for himself, I don’t think. He was effectively wiping our memory. Sort of like a computer,” Caitlin explains.

“Which means we should have a back up, right?” Wallace asks.

“Theoretically.”

“But it's not like we have any other test subjects. We have no controls. No real idea until we can confront Peter,” Harrison says.

Bart slurps down what Cisco is pretty sure is his second cheeseburger. “We can't try to reverse it ourselves?”

“We could. But I don’t think it’d be pretty,” Caitlin says. “Our best bet is to get Peter to reverse it himself.”

Wallace empties out a large fry into his mouth. It’s as impressive as it gross. Cisco wonders if the slurping and overeating is a speed thing. He’ll have to ask Caitlin.

“So we go confront Peter,” Bart says. “You ready to suit up?”

It takes Cisco a moment to realize Bart is talking to him. “I found my suit. But I just figured out how to find this guy. I haven’t quite gotten the hang of the… other stuff I do.”

Bart and Wallace exchange glances. “But this is Team Vibe,” Wallace says.

“Yeah. I mean, from the videos we’ve seen, we kind of just run around. You’re the one with the fire power. And look at our suits!” Barry makes a vague gesture between he and Wallace’s outfits. “Inverted color scheme. We’re like your sidekicks!”

Wallace frowns. “Sidekicks may not be the right word.”

“You’re a great sidekick,” Iris tells Wallace, knocking him on the shoulder. “Both of you. Barry’s right though. We have no idea what Peter can do, but we probably need all hands on deck.”

“Okay,” Cisco agrees, because that makes sense. Pretty much everything she says makes sense. He’s sure she’s their leader, a hero the same as any of the rest of them. Just like Caitlin and Joe. Harrison, too. “Has anyone figured out how my other powers work?”

Everyone shares a glance. Cisco takes that as a no.

-

Bart and Wallace are speeding around, a whirlwind of bright, buzzing color. They blur in the corner of Cisco’s eyes as he tries to focus on slicing a tear in the universe.

“Focus on where you want to go,” Harrison is saying, like he has any idea what Cisco’s doing. It sounds good, though, so Cisco narrows his eyes and concentrates on the other end of the room. “Now do the, uh, uh, the thing. The swirly whirly thing.”

“You think that’s the scientific name for it?” Cisco teases.

“Yes,” Harrison says, lips twitching up.

Cisco twists his wrist. In the videos he’s seen, it looks almost as if the physical movement helps with Cisco’s energy flow. Light starts to bloom around his fist. It spirals out, a perfect circle, and it’s bright and blue and electric. Cisco’s buzzing inside out.

He’s secure enough to admit to himself that he’s nervous to step into it. There’s fear - what if he puts his foot in then comes out in the middle of a volcano - but that’s not the only thing making his heart thump. Adrenaline has him kicked into high gear.

“You don’t have to do this. We can try to send an apple in first,” Harrison says.

“It’s going to work,” Cisco assures him. He believes it. He knows it.

He takes the step.

And comes out right by Harrison’s side.

Harrison’s mouth opens.

“Told you,” Cisco says with a smile. “Am I the coolest superhero you’ve ever seen or am I the coolest superhero you’ve ever seen?”

“I was going to say hottest.”

“That was awful.” Cisco rocks on his heels, smiling.

Harrison mirrors his smile and sways forward.

“Uh, guys?” Caitlin asks. She taps on the glass that separates where she’s monitoring the speedsters and the area where Cisco and Harrison have been training. “You didn’t forget I was sitting right here, did you?”

“No?” Cisco says.

Harrison shrugs. Cisco probably shouldn’t encourage him, but pushes up to kiss his cheek anyway.

Suddenly Iris is sliding into the lab. Cisco has a moment to appreciate the smoothness of it before realizing how heavily she’s breathing.

Bart is by her side in a flash. “Baby? What’s wrong?”

“There’s something happening in the other lab. It looks like one of Cisco’s - vortex things.”

“Breaches,” Cisco says. “Because I’m like, breaching space.”

“Wait. If there’s a breach in the lab - what’s gonna come through it?” Caitlin asks.

Iris shakes her head. “I don’t know. But I think we’re about to find out.”

-

They gather around the shaking, wobbling blue. Cisco has his hands up with his speedsters at his side. Iris and Harrison found guns - prompting Bart and Cisco tobshare a holy fuck my bae looks good with a weapon look - and stand shoulder to shoulder with Joe, locked and loaded. Caitlin is behind them.

It’s almost disappointing when the person who pops out of the breach is gentle looking young woman. She’s sporting another lycra suit, similar to Bart’s, and there’s something familiar about the tilt of her eyes.

“Jesse?”

Cisco recognizes her from the picture as soon as Harrison says her name.

“Dad,” she says. The smile she offers is watery, unsure. “You didn’t come back. And I never heard from you or - ” She gestures in Cisco’s general direction. “I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

“You have a daughter?” Joe asks.

“Uh, of course he has a daughter. Dad? What’s going on?”

“I can honestly tell you I have no idea,” Harrison says.

“Hi,” Wallace says, stepping forward, hand outstretched. “I don’t know if we’ve met, but just in case we haven’t. I’m Wallace.”

Jesse stares at his hand.

“Dude,” Cisco whispers. He shakes his head. “Not the time.”

“Um. Dad? Can we...talk?”

“I think we all need to talk,” Iris says.

“Let’s give them a minute,” Joe says. “It’s his daughter.”

They all nod. Harrison deserves a minute before they swarm her with questions about who they are and what they’re doing. Who they’re dating.

“Come on guys,” Cisco says, motioning for everyone to follow him. He smiles when Harrison gives him a tight, tense nod.

“You’re a stepdad,” Caitlin whispers as they’re leaving.

“A step-DILF,” he corrects.

“Do you think you can put in a good word for me?” Wallace asks.

“Yeah, dude. I’ll give you the best reviews.”

-

When Harrison and Jesse join them a few minutes later, Harrison’s frown lines are in full force. Cisco wants to slide from the table to gentle them. He stays where he’s at. Jesse might not actually be cool with her dad dating a guy or a guy Cisco’s age - regardless of Cisco's charm or super powers.

Jesse gives them a summary that makes Cisco’s head spin. She’s fought a meta - metahuamn is what they call themselves, apparently - because she also has speed and a secret name on her Earth - because oh, yeah, there’s more than one - and the only way to reverse their memory loss is to have Mindsweeper hit them one more time. Cisco thinks the name is pretty clever, actually, then feels a little like a jackass when Jesse tells him he’s the one who came up with it.

He wants to join the fight. Starts talking like he’s going to lead the mission, really, until Jesse and Harrison raise their hands in unison. Jesse gives the Cliffs Notes of his powers and Joe frowns as hard as Cisco’s head throbs as she explains how a misplaced vibrational blast could shatter someone’s nervous system. Harrison doesn’t hide his relief when they agree as a group to keep Cisco on the sidelines.

The speedsters leave with bluetooth speakers attached to their ears. Bart kisses Iris goodbye like he's going off to war. Wallace hugs Joe and Joe grips him tight, blinking away tears. Jesse hugs Harrison too. It's tense.

When the lab is clear, Caitlin, Iris, and Joe settle in around the computers. Cisco hacks into the city security cameras - his fingers remember the movements even if his brain doesn’t remember learning them - and Harrison hovers, a long stretch of nerves behind him.

Once they’re set up, Cisco offers his seat to Joe. Then he grabs Harrison by the hand.

“I can’t watch this,” Harrison says after Cisco has dragged him to the corner of the lab. “I can’t listen to this. She swears she’s going to be fine because she’s done it before but I - she’s my only daughter, Cisco.”

Cisco doesn’t understand. He knows the three people who buzzed out of the lab aren’t his family, but he also knows he must care about them; he can’t imagine not being there for every speedy step. But Harrison is pale and shaking.

“What happened with you guys in there?”

Harrison shakes his head. “It’s not important. It won’t matter in a little while anyway.”

“Come on, Harrison. Talking helps.”

“You don’t know that.”

Cisco considers their options. As much as he wants to be plugged into the action, prepped and ready to jump in if needed, it hurts a deep part of his heart to see Harrison so scared.

“Do you wanna make out in the other lab to distract yourself until they come back?”

Harrison swallows. “Does it make me a terrible father if I say yes?”

“Maybe a little,” Cisco says. It cracks Harrison enough for him to grin. Cisco tugs Harry down until their foreheads are touching. “It’s gonna be okay. Have a little faith, Harrison.”

“Guys,” Iris calls from the monitors. “They found him.”

-

All in all, Mindsweeper is one of the easier meta’s they’ve dealt with.

The speedsters bring him in. He’s all shaking apologies as he explains he never meant to hurt them but he can’t go to jail; he depends on his scholarship too much to lose it, and when Caitlin brought him in he was sure it was to arrest him. He’d never heard of Team Flash just talking to a meta.

One pulse that puts them all on their backs refreshes all the memories they lost. Cisco stands up with a throb between his temples and everything he forgot slamming layer by layer back into his brain. All of them stagger, reaching for balance on tables and walls. Barry and Iris cling to each other. Cisco almost reaches for Harry, before a flutter of warmth in his cheeks reminds him of the last time he put his hands on Harry’s skin.

It takes a few days for everything to come back. Harry opts to spend them in his room at Star Labs instead of Cisco’s couch, where he'd been staying since Jesse asked him to step back from Team Quick. Cisco doesn’t want him to leave. He wants Harry to stay, even if it’s awkward, even if they can’t quite meet each other’s eyes yet. He doesn’t say anything.

Cisco gets all of 10th grade back 48 hours after he gets back almost everything else. He spends most of the day laying on his bed, cringing in embarrassment twice removed. When he gets up, he’s struck by the lack of black on his bedroom floor.

On the third day of ignoring each other, Cisco corners Harry in their workshop.

“Bart’s going to grab some pizza,” he tries. “You want anything?”

“No.”

Cisco sighs. He slides next to Harry, trying to play casual as he looks over Harry’s shoulder and tries not to inhale Harry’s scent.

“Whatcha working on?”

“Nothing,” Harry says, tense. His shoulders are a stiff line and his jaw jumps to the beat of Cisco’s heart.

“Harry. You can’t keep ignoring me.”

“I’m not. I’m just - busy.” Harry drops his screwdriver on the table and scratches at his scalp. He looks at Cisco through the corner of his eye. “I don’t want to do this, Ramon. I don’t want to talk about - whatever you want to talk about it. I just want to act like none of it happened.”

“Oh,” Cisco says, like he was expecting some other answer. “Okay. If that’s what you - ”

“It didn’t mean anything.”

Cisco sways under the words. They fall on him like a physical touch. He knew that - he knew that for Harry, obviously. Whatever their kisses and tenderness meant to Cisco, it was one sided meaning, shallow and flimsy as they’d all been without their memories. It feels different to hear it out loud. To hear Harry say it.

“I know. We just got caught up. It was the Speed factor, you know? Strangers pushed together by adrenaline and crazy circumstances. Didn’t help that we found lube in the bed.”

Harry rolls his eyes to the ceiling. Cisco winces. Of all the morning's he'd had to indulge in a little stress relief and forget to clean up after himself...

“I’m not saying we have to talk about anything,” Cisco assures him. “I think the biggest lesson we learned is not to leave all our clothes on the floor. That’s all we need to take away from this.”

“Really? I thought you were going to make me talk about my feelings.”

“I’m not a sadist, Harry.”

Harry finally looks at him. He’s wide eyed as he can be, watching Cisco warily, like he expects Cisco to scream not and yank his emotions out of him.

“We’re cool. We came to what seemed like a logical conclusion and just kind of. Got a little carried away. But we didn’t do anything we can’t come back from, right?”

“No,” Harry answers, dropping his gaze again. “No, we didn’t.”

Cisco pats Harry’s shoulder, nothing to it, and tries not to think about the easy way Harry touched his when they couldn’t remember each other’s names. The way Harry gripped him tight and kissed his throat.

“So we’re cool?”

“Yeah, Ramon. We’re cool.”

-

They’re not cool.

A meta who can liquefy anything she touches breaks in - okay, walks in - to the lab while Harry’s sleeping. He’s almost a Harry puddle when Cisco breaches in to grab the phone charger he forgot and takes her down with one well placed vibrational blast. Harry hadn’t even tried to call him. He had it “under control.”

There’s a plug up in Harry’s pulse gun. Cisco knows he can fix it, but Harry shoos him away, then straight up ignores him, every time he goes into their workshop. He ends up fixing it in secret one night while Harry is visiting Jesse on Earth 2. Cisco works on the gun out of spite, not to distract himself from the cold gnawing at his stomach, whispering that Harry might not come back.

Harry does. He must notice the gun is fixed, but he doesn’t say anything.

By the end of week two, it’s obvious Harry’s not coming home - back to stay at Cisco’s place. Which is fine. Cisco is glad to have his space be entirely his own again. Sure, there’s a little lonely ache when he wakes up and makes breakfast for one, and falling asleep without the sound of Harry’s breathing is more difficult than it used to be.

By the end of week three, Cisco has almost forgotten what Harry’s mouth tasted like. He's almost forgotten the surprising softness of Harry’s lips and Harry’s heart, all those trembling insecurities he offered up as freely as his affection. Cisco tries to find it again. He tries to ask Harry about his visits on Earth 2 and acknowledge all Harry does to help the team. It just pisses Harry off.

Whatever vulnerability Harry had let him see when they thought they knew each other’s touch is buried deeper beneath denial and sarcasm than it ever has been.

It makes Cisco sad, at first. He misses his friend. He misses being able to reach out and draw Harry back from his brooding. He misses being able to reach out and feel Harry’s warmth. More than he daydreams about those few deep, spine tingling kisses, he imagines Harry telling him all his secrets again.

The next time Harry risks his life to avoid talking to Cisco, though, Cisco gets over the sadness.

-

“Are you really gonna let yourself get killed so you don’t have to talk to me?”

It’s not the best time to call Harry out on what a ridiculous dick he’s been. Amunet has sent some nasty, hulking men to shoot up the lab. Harry didn’t call him - again - but did send a 911 to Barry and Caitlin. Barry buzzed in immediately. She’d been too far away, but Cisco never was. If she hadn’t called him -

“Do we have to do this now?” Harry asks. They’re pressed shoulder to shoulder behind an overturned table. Barry is speeding around the last three three men.

“Apparently! You won’t even look at me if we’re not about to die!”

Harry does look at him, then, but only for a moment. Cisco wants to pull his hair in frustration. His hair doesn’t deserve it, though. He hits Harry’s shoulder instead.

“Ramon. It’s not the time - ”

“There’s never a good time,” Cisco reminds him. “Just tell me why you’re so mad at me. Is it because I said you were a bad dad for wanting to make out while Jesse was on a mission? You know I was just kidding to lighten the mood, right?”

Harry bangs the back of his head against the table. “I thought we weren’t going to talk about this,” he grits.

“Maybe we need to. Whatever issue you’re having - if you think I went too far, or that I’m not over it, then we need - ”

A crash that does not sound like winning echoes. They both look up to see Barry dangling in a pair of mean, meaty hands. Cisco points his finger in Harry’s face.

“You’re not off the hook, mister.”

Then he stands. He lets two blasts loose, knocking the two guys barreling towards he and Harry on their back. With a deep breath for focus, he opens a breach, stepping in then out directly behind the hulk that’s holding Barry by the neck. It’s a testament to his Harry induced stress that he can’t think of anything witty to say before he releases a concentrated blast against the guy’s head.

Barry falls from the grip as soon as Cisco knocks the dude to the ground. There’s no grace to it, but when Barry gets to his feet, he’s grinning.

“Thanks,” Barry says. “Why didn’t you just do that in the first place?”

“Sorry. I was trying to talk to tall, dark, and brooding over there.”

“Don’t worry about it. I knew you’d save the day.”

“Yeah?”

Barry jostles him. “Of course. That’s why we’re team Vibe, after all.”

-

The next time Cisco corners Harry it’s during a simultaneous morning coffee run. Harry looks more panicked than he did surrounded by goons with guns and meta powers.

“Are you embarrassed?” Cisco asks, soft enough no one around them can hear, while they’re waiting side by side for the barista to finish their orders. “You’re a good kisser, if that’s - ”

“That is not,” Harry interrupts him. “I’m not embarrassed about that.”

“So you’re embarrassed about all the feelings you shared? Those weren’t even really real.”

Although Cisco is almost entirely certain they were real. Cisco’s seen it in the clench of Harry’s fingers, the pain that still flashes when anyone mentions Jesse’s name. He thinks he could smooth out the wrinkles of it all, at least soften it, if Harry would let him again.

“I said I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“Well I do,” Cisco says. It comes out a desperate almost whine but Cisco is desperate. He reaches for Harry’s shoulder like he used to do without a second thought. “Please. Just. I miss you, Harry. Just tell me what to do to get you back.”

Harry looks at Cisco’s hand on his shoulder like it hurts him. Cisco removes it with a sigh. When he reaches for his coffee, Harry swipes both of their orders and nods to an empty table.

“It’s not that I’m embarrassed,” Harry tells him when they slide onto their chairs. “It’s just that I’m - I can’t believe my first inclination was to believe we were dating. You’re - I mean, even when I didn’t remember anything about you I knew you were too - ”

While Harry struggles for the words, Cisco has a flash back to Harry, soft in his hands. _I think you might be too good for me._

“Too young for me. Like Joe said.”

“Really? The age thing? That’s what you’re going with?” Harry looks out the window. “Harry. If we’re going to talk you have to actually talk to me.”

“We were ridiculous,” Harry finally says through clenched teeth. “I was ridiculous. We were in danger and Jesse was going off to do, I didn’t even know what, and I couldn’t stop wondering if you were really my boyfriend. We made out in the workshop and now I can’t even go near that table. It was stupid. I was stupid.”

“Then I was stupid too.”

Harry blinks. “No. Ramon, you were just caught up. Heat of the moment. It was Speed.”

“Why do I get a pass and you don’t?” Cisco asks seriously. All the guilt that’s been cradling his memories of Harry’s tongue tendrils out. He feels heavy with it. “If you were stupid, I was stupid. If I was on the speeding danger bus, you were on the speeding danger bus. We both had our memories wiped. We both assumed. We both tried to get to third base.”

Harry tears at a napkin with his fingertips. “But you’ve gotten over it.”

Cisco pauses in a gulp of coffee. “You haven’t?”

“It’s been a long time,” Harry says. He stops messing with the napkin only to crack his knuckles. His gaze stays fixed on anything that isn’t Cisco’s face. “It didn’t mean anything. I know that. But it’s harder to forget about. For me, anyway.”

Every nerve of self loathing vibrates in Cisco’s chest. A selfish, ugly part of himself wants it to mean something to Harry, the same as it meant to him. Wants Harry to dream about those kisses and that warmth the same way Cisco does.

“Then we won’t forget it.” Harry glances at him. “It doesn’t have to be a big deal. We can think of it as the equivalent of a bad decision night drunken make out. Something that felt awesome at the time but we acknowledge now was a dumb, dumb thing to do. It doesn’t mean anything else between us has to change.”

Harry smiles at him, water thin, but it’s more than he’s given Cisco in weeks. Cisco takes it with happy hands.

“What if,” Harry begins, but Cisco stops him.

“Let’s just enjoy our coffee, okay? Then maybe you can help me make some Vibe gear adjustments?”

It takes a few moments, but Harry nods.

-

Things are better, after that.

Still a little stilted. They both make obvious efforts not to brush fingers in the workshop and Harry doesn’t grip his shoulders the way Harry used to.

But Harry doesn’t hesitate to tease him. They bicker and banter and build and the next time Harry’s in trouble, Cisco is the first one he calls.

-

Jesse comes to visit again nearly a week later. She steps tino the Cortex to celebrate her birthday with her dad on Earth 1. Cisco gets them tickets to the ballet because he thinks Jesse will like it and Harry will hate it. He’s right on both counts. Later he meets them at Bagatelli’s for dinner and dessert with the rest of the team.

Except no one else is there.

“Everyone cancelled,” Jesse explains, oddly bright for a girl who’s just been abandoned by her friends. “It’s just the Wells-Ramon family tonight.”

“Jesse.”

She smiles, all innocence, when Harry grits her name. Cisco tries not to think about how close to family night this feels, how all the step-DILF fantasies he had when he thought he was Harry’s boyfriend swirl right back to the surface. When he attempts to take his seat next to her, Harry pushes out of his chair in a swirl of uncoordinated awkwardness. He scoots Cisco’s seat back for him.

“Uh,” Cisco says, blinking at Jesse, who watches him cheerfully. “Thanks?”

Harry nods and takes his own seat back.

“So. The ballet was nice,” Jesse says.

“That’s great. I read these really great reviews - ”

“What was it like thinking you were dating my dad?”

Harry nearly chokes on his water. Cisco probably would’ve too, if he’d been drinking. He reaches out to pat Harry between the shoulder blades, but Harry shrugs him off, gasping out an _I'm fine, Ramon_ , even though he’s clearly not.

“Are you okay, daddy?”

“Are you trying to kill him?”

“I was just curious,” Jesse says lightly. “Dad never told me why you thought you guys were dating in the first place.”

“There were...signs,” Cisco says. “Very compelling signs. And signals. And Iris started it.”

Harry points. “Yes, she did. She suggested it. She practically told us that’s what she thought was happening.”

“So you guys just...went along with it? Because Iris said it?”

“I mean. That’s kind of how Barry lives his entire life. It’s worked for him so far,” Cisco counters weakly.

“Like Ramon said, the evidence was compelling. Very compelling.”

Jesse tilts her head. “You gonna elaborate on that?”

“No,” they say in unison. If anything, Jesse’s smile grows wider.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I thought it was incredibly cute when dad asked if you were his partner.”

Cisco’s eyes go wide. Harry puts his face in his hands.

“When exactly did that happen?” Cisco asks.

“Uh, it was like, his fourth question. After are you my daughter, are you okay, telling me he loved me and he was sorry for anything he did that made me not be where he was. I guess that last part wasn’t really a question.”

“You never said you asked her if we were together.”

Harry clenches his jaw. “Because she wouldn’t tell me.”

“We didn’t have time,” Jesse says, holding up her hands. “Your memories were gone. I had to save you.”

“It was a pretty simple question,” Cisco points out. His mouth feels sore and irritable around the words. Not that her telling them the truth would’ve changed anything when they got their memories back half an hour later. But still. Still.

Jesse tilts her head again. “Was it?”

She asks the question so innocuously, but there’s that familiar Wells glint her eyes. Cisco is positively shook. When he looks at Harry, he finds Harry staring at the table cloth, intent and intense like if he focuses his effort the thing will catch fire and he won’t have to answer Jesse at all.

“Oh, that’s my phone. I should probably get that. Don’t know when a new villain will need to be Jesse Quicked.”

Harry frowns as she stands. “Your phone didn’t even ring.”

“Sorry dad, can’t talk now. You two just feel free to order.”

They watch her walk away. She doesn’t even pretend to keep up the fake call, sliding her phone around to text as she heads towards the restaurant entrance.

“Okay,” Cisco says slowly. “I feel like we just got Jesse Quicked. And I don’t even know what that means.”

“Nothing. It doesn’t mean anything. Does anyone work here? Shouldn’t we have wine already?”

Harry looks around, a little frantic, snapping his fingers like that will magically summon booze. Cisco watches him in mostly amusement before batting his hands down.

“Chill out. They’ll bring us the wine menu in a second.” Harry shifts in his chair. “Why did Jesse ditch us at the fancy restaurant?”

As soon as he asks the question, Harry starts snapping again.

“ _Harry._ ”

He stops snapping. But he doesn’t stop fidgeting.

Cisco’s brain finally catches up from its Wells induced lag. He takes in the candles, Harry’s sketchy twitches, the lack of everyone else who loves Jesse from the table where they’re supposed to celebrate her -

“Did Jesse set us up...on a date?”

Harry slumps in his seat. “I told her this was a terrible idea.”

“Oh. My God.” Cisco blinks at her empty chair. “She set us up on a date on her birthday? Is this like, a present to herself?”

“It’s my present,” Harry admits. He lulls his head up to meet Cisco’s eyes. “Part of it, anyway. The big part is that I’m supposed to talk to you. About my feelings. For you.”

The grin that pulls at Cisco’s lips is completely involuntary and completely impossible to stop. He feels positively giddy because even his insecurity monster, which has admittedly grown less powerful but can still twist the kindest words into an echo of self loathing, knows that Harry’s into him.

All the angst about kissing Harry too hard and holding him too tight and trying to take too much of him while offering himself in hopeful heaps melts away. Harry wants him. Harry wants him back.

Cisco puts his chin on his hands.

“Well. I wouldn’t want to stop you from giving your only daughter her present.”

Harry closes his eyes. “I hate you.”

“Hmm. A very wise, very handsome man I know used to have the perfect response to things like that.” He waits until Harry opens his eyes again, then smiles. “Not!”

“I don’t know which of you is worse,” Harry says. He’s smiling too, a toothy, gentle one. Cisco feels the victory of easing Harry’s tension pulse alongside the thrill of Harry’s unspoken words.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Why have you been so weird these past few weeks?” Cisco asks.

“Because you said it didn’t mean anything.”

“Yeah, but. I didn’t mean it. And you said it first.”

Harry glares.

“You could’ve said it meant something to you,” Cisco says, but it’s a weak defense. They were both cowards. “What about at Jitters? You could’ve admitted it then.”

“I did. I tried. I said I couldn’t forget.”

“And I was supposed to interpret the fact that you wanted me from that?”

“Yes.”

Cisco shakes his head. “You realize that’s insane, right?”

“You said things didn’t have to change between us. I didn’t know how to tell you that I wanted them to. That I want them to.”

Harry puts his hands on the table. He looks at Cisco’s, looks into his eyes, at his mouth. Cisco’s heart tries to crawl up to meet Harry’s gaze.

“I don’t want to go back to just being on your team. To just touching your shoulder and having that be enough. To holding back because - because everything I want to share with you is too much for just friends.”

“Then we won’t,” Cisco says, simple, like his knees aren’t shaking and his fingers aren’t aching to dig themselves into Harry’s hips again. “We won’t go back. We’ll move forward.”

Harry eyes him, wary. “Just like that?”

“It was pretty easy the first time we thought we were dating. No reason it can’t be that easy again.”

“There are plenty of reasons it can’t be.”

Cisco takes the plunge. He was too scared to tell Harry the truth - he’s been hiding it from it for longer than he cares to admit. So he seizes his destiny and places his hands over Harry’s, sweeping his thumbs over Harry’s knuckles.

“They don’t matter,” Cisco says sincerely. “Yeah, it’ll be crazy, but our lives are crazy. When it’s just you and me? We can make anything work.”

“We can, can’t we?”

Cisco grins. “Now what do you say we ditch this too fancy for french fries nonsense and grab some Big Belly Burger?”

Harry pauses. His tongue presses against his lips and Cisco pretends he isn’t enthralled by the movement until he realizes he doesn’t have to anymore.

“We could do that,” Harry says. “Or we could go make out in the labs again.”

Of course that’s the moment the waiter finally slips to their table, wine menu in hand. Cisco ignores him.

“I like your plan better.”

Cisco drops a twenty on the table. He can’t imagine he’ll regret it, not by the way Harry tugs him towards the exit, back into the shadows where they can breach without notice. They’re barely out the door before Harry is pressing him back against the nearest flat surface and sucking a pink mark into his neck.

“I really do like that,” Cisco says, needlessly, getting his hands around the narrow taper of Harry’s waist. He loses himself until Harry pulls away to kiss him open and hot on the mouth.

It’s good and slick and way better than before. He knows Harry now, his cracks and broken parts and the places that he shines, and it’s so much more satisfying to dig his grip into skin he remembers. He clings to the body that’s saved him, that he’s saved, and sucks at Harry’s bottom lip.

“Back to the labs,” Harry pants. “Or your place. Anywhere with a bed. Or a table. Or a floor.”

Cisco laughs, giddy, into their next kiss. “I think maybe you’re the easy one, Harry.”

“Tell me if I’m going too fast. I don’t want to do anything you don’t - if you want to take things slower - ”

“Nope. I really, really don’t.” He pulls Harry in so he can kiss a matching patch of heat against Harry’s throat. But speaking of speed - “Crap.”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Jesse. It’s still her birthday. We can’t ditch her.”

Harry pulls back. Only a little, just enough to keep his very distracting mouth on Cisco’s jaw. “It’s not really her birthday.”

“What?” Cisco hits him in the chest until he pulls away with a frown.

“What?”

“Hey, no, not me what. You what. It’s not really her birthday? You guys tricked me?”

“I - trick isn’t really the right word. More like lured. That’s not right either.” Harry pauses. “It was her idea.”

“I wonder where she got that from.”

“Can you be angry adorable later?”

Cisco pauses to hit Harry again. “I’m not adorable when I’m angry.”

“You’re adorable all the time. It’s distracting.”

Harry says this with his brows furrowed and his mouth swollen, like he’s the only one being unfairly distracted right now. Cisco narrows his eyes.

“Fine. But only because I want to see if you can lift me onto the workshop table. You and Jesse will be receiving a lecture on luring sweet, innocent heroes into traps of debauchery.”

“Looking forward to it.” Harry nips at his neck. “Now breach, Ramon. I’ll show you what else I remember.”

Cisco opens the world up for them. They step through, hand in hand. Cisco knows he’ll never forget it.


End file.
